warriorsfanficfandomcom-20200213-history
Hidden Whispers
Prologue They still called themselves LeafClan, even though they were no longer anything like a Clan or a Tribe, but something in between. Stonestar, their leader, held all the power, but Star read the messages from their ancestors. They didn't know who their ancestors were, or where they resided, but they knew they were there. It was Star who chose the she-cat. His paws had been guided by their ancestors, and the young she-cat had been chosen. She would be Stonestar's mate, and bear his kits. The first-born would be the next leader of LeafClan. Ripple was the she-cat chosen. Star came to the den where she and her sister slept in the middle of the night. Ripple sat bolt upright, hearing a noise. Her sister, Mintdapple, was already awake. She slapped her tail over Ripple's mouth, keeping her quiet. But of course both of them relaxed when they realised it was only Star. He pushed his way into the den, his head streaked with the silver mark that showed his ancestors approval of him. Star dipped his head to the she-cats. "Greetings, Mintdapple, Ripple. Our ancestors have sent a sign. Ripple, you will be Stonestar's mate. It is a great honour, but you will have to say goodbye to your sister now. You will not see her again. You will live in the cave with Stonestar, and not leave it until your life is spent." Ripple dipped her head in return. "I accept. Thank you Star. And I thank my ancestors, for granting me this honour." The two sisters had bid each other farewell. Ripple buried her face in Mintdapple's fur, and murmured a few words, then followed Star away from the den. Mintdapple saw Ripple again four moons later. Stonestar was making an appearance in front of the whole Clan, as he did every moon, telling them the news. Mintdapple stood below the Great Rock, beside her mate, Eagle. He had moved into her den a moon after Ripple had moved out, and Mintdapple was expecting their kits. Now, as they stood together, watching Stonestar, Ripple emerged from behind him. Her belly was heavily swollen, it seemed that she too was going to have kits. The cats cheered for her, although they were mainly cheering at the thought that there would be a successor. The cats of LeafClan were weak and wandering, never able to do anything without a strong leader. It wasn't long after that, that Mintdapple's kits were born. There was a storm at the time, and lightning flashed overhead. Thunder boomed, drowning the hissing of the rain for an instant. Eagle stood at the entrance to the den, watching the rain. His three kits had just been born, and he was thinking of names. "Storm," he said at last. "for the bigger grey one." "That's nice," Mintdapple nodded approvingly. "The ginger one can be Sandflash, and the small grey one Thunderbolt." Eagle purred, and padded over to his mate, looking down on the three squirming kits. Another sudden flash of lightning lit up the entrance to the den, outlining a cat standing there. There was a scuffling sound, like rocks being dislodged, and Eagle spun around with a snarl, only to witness a tiny, wet, bedraggled kit crouching pitifully at the entrance. Eagle bent his head, scooped the kit up and carried it over to Mintdapple, where he dropped it with a rough thud. Mintdapple raised her head and looked at the kit. It was silver, with a tiny black lightningbolt marking on its side. As soon as she saw it, Mintdapple knew whose kit this was. "It's Stonestar's child! Look, it bears the mark of a leader." Mintdapple pointed with her nose to the lightning mark. "This must be Ripple's daughter." "But what is it doing here?" Eagle asked, looking around. A cat barged in as he spoke, and Mintdapple pushed the royal kit to her side, where it began to suckle. Mintdapple crouched protectively over all four kits, hiding the lightning mark with her fur. "I come to ask if you have seen a cat with a kit." the newcomer said firmly. "I also come to tell you that Stonestar and his mate are dead. A new leader will be taking over LeafClan. Any remnant of the former leader's family must be killed." Chapter 1 Lightning swiped her tongue over the strange patch of fur on her side. It was a line of black fur on her silver pelt. Lightning dimly remembered that the mark used to have a clearer shape, but it had grown out with time, and was now just a patch of odd fur. Mintdapple said that even that patch of fur would become silver soon, because the original mark had been caused by a herb that Lightning had mistakenly eaten when she was just a tiny kit. Lightning always wanted to find that herb. She thought a herb that could change the colour of a cats fur could be very useful. Lightning's big brother, Storm, padded over to her. Storm was the biggest of the four kits, and the strongest too. He was always telling the others that because he had been born first, he had to protect them. That was nice to hear sometimes, but it could also get a bit annoying. Lightning had been born second, and was the same size as Sandflash, her sister. Sandflash was the third born, and easy-going and relaxed. Sandflash was popular with everyone, and she even looked cheerful, with her pale ginger coat and wide blue eyes. The last born kit was Thunderbolt. He was tiny, the runt of the litter, with dark grey tufty fur that made him look like a very young kit still, even though he was almost five moons old, like the rest of them. No one could doubt Thunderbolt's courage though, despite his small size. His green eyes always glittered with mischief, and it was always Thunderbolt who went exploring outside the den when his mother's back was turned. Kits weren't allowed outside their family den until they were six moons old. That was a little more than a moon away. LeafClan seemed full of rules, which, for a young kit, was just boring. Lightning hated all the rules and regulations that marked out the life of a LeafClan cat from birth to death. She and her brothers and sister had made a secret pact to try and break every rule they could. So far, Thunderbolt held the record for number of times sneaked outside. He was champion at it. Because he was so small, he could easily fit through the branches of the den, and Mintdapple never suspected the most innocent looking kit. Now, Storm bent his head to Lightning's ear. "A new family moved in next door!" he exclaimed. This was good news. The two dens on either side of Mintdapple and Eagle's den were not out of bounds for the kits if a tunnel was built between the two dens, and this might give them some new friends! Lightning could see that Thunderbolt and Sandflash were already telling Mintdapple about the new neighbours, trying to persuade her that they needed more company. Storm beckoned Lightning with his head, and pattered over to the others. "Please Mummy?" Thunderbolt was asking as they approached. "Please please please please please plea..." Mintdapple interrupted him. "I've said I'll think about it, and I will. Now go and play together. You're lucky there are four of you. I would have thought that was plenty of company." Thunderbolt muttered something under his breath and padded over to join his brother and sisters, head and tail lowered. "Mummy says she'll think about it, which means no, I bet." Sandflash shrugged. "Oh, well, she might be right. I mean, they might not be very nice kits, next door, and if they've just had to move dens to down here, then their family might not be very nice either." Storm nodded wisely. "Exactly. We should be careful who we mix with. After all, we are down here because we're related to the old leader. So, if our family breaks a rule, and gets caught, we'll be sent onto the ground!" Families in LeafClan were organised according to their social status. Because Ripple had been Mintdapple's sister, the cave their family lived in was only just above the ground. If they got demoted any more, they would have to build their nest on the ground, and after that, they'd have to leave, and live far away from the rest of LeafClan. "All right, I'll be careful." Thunderbolt grumbled. "But I still think that we need friends." Chapter 2 Lightning stretched, and yawned loudly, waking up Sandflash, who cuffed Lightning grumpily over the ear. "Try and be quiet this early, you mousebrain. Some of us actually like sleeping." Lightning mumbled an apology, and Sandflash curled up and went back to sleep. Lightning bounced to the entrance of the den and peered out. Just outside the next door den, she could see three kits scuffling in the dust. One was black, one golden, and one dark brown. The black one was pinning the golden one down, while the brown one reached for a butterfly just above his head. He chased it across the cave, until it fluttered away, he tripped over his own paws, and landed on his nose in front of Lightning. "Hi!" he squeaked, scrambling to his paws. "Hi." Lightning replied cautiously. "I'm Berry, and this is my brother and sister, Night and Strike!" "I'm Lightning." Berry bounced playfully back over to his siblings, then turned in surprise when he realised Lightning wasn't following. "Well, aren't you coming to play with us?" Lightning beckoned him with her tail, and all three of them scampered over. "We're not allowed outside our dens until we reach six moons!" she whispered urgently. Berry, Night and Strike looked confused. "Why?" Strike asked, her large blue eyes wide with confusion. "Because that's the rules, and we have to obey them or we'll be sent below." Night padded to the edge of the cliff and looked down. "Is that below?" Lightning nodded solemnly. "Yes, and it's deadly dangerous down there, so don't fall!" Night squeaked with fear, and scrabled back across the cave to stand beside his brother and sister, his tail drooping and his whiskers trembling. Lightning looked apologetic, and ducked her head. "I have to go. My parents will be worried about me. Maybe I'll see you again." Berry nodded, and the three of them scampered back towards their den, while Lightning wriggled underneath the tunnel into hers. Chapter 3 Thunderbolt prodded Lightning's odd-coloured patch of fur with his nose. "It's not growing out very fast," he said scornfully. "Oh shut up," Lightning snapped, clouting him on the ear with her paw. "It's my special mark. I don't want it to grow out!" "Where were you this morning?" her brother asked slyly. "You know you can't sneak out without me knowing." Lightning glanced around, making sure her parents were out of earshot, then crouched down beside Thunderbolt. "I met the kits who just moved here," she hissed. "They're nice. They're called Berry, Strike, and Night. But they didn't know the rules about not playing outside. I had to warn them." Thunderbolt frowned. "That's impossible. Everyone knows the Glint's rules." "Ssssh!" Lightning hissed. "You know you mustn't say his name, stupid." Thunderbolt cowered, for once fearing the penalty for rule-breaking. The Glint had many rules, but this was the strongest. Any cat who said his name was instantly executed - and every other cat in LeafClan was forced to watch, even the day-old kits. Lightning had seen two executions in her short life, and both time the excitement of leaving the den was tempered by the horror of watching another cat die. The Glint's way of execution was harsh and cruel. He would tie a strong bramble tendril around the accused's neck - the brambles would cut into the skin to cause even more pain - and then with the other end of the tendril held in place by stones, he would toss the accused off the cliff, down to the below. Only they never reached the below alive. The bramble tendril would snap their neck as easily as a Twoleg with a firestick, and by the time they finally reached the below the spirit would have faded from behind their eyes, gone to... well, the Glint said that spirits didn't go anywhere. They just disappeared and never returned. Lightning didn't like that idea. It seemed so unfriendly, and such a waste.